Fruitcake
by Rose Thorne
Summary: Christmas Yu Yu Hakusho style. YAOI. Plagiarism of this or any other of my fanfics will not be tolerated. Permission was given to one person to translate this to Portuguese.
1. Chapter One: Skates

Fruitcake- Chapter 1 __

Fruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 1: Skates

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Kurama  
It is nearing Christmas. Yuusuke and Kuwabara wanted to take the girls roller skating. I somehow managed to cajole Hiei into coming with us. He isn't too happy about it though. He's mostly mad because he has to wear ningen clothing. He refused to wear anything but black, though. I also made him put on a baseball cap to cover the ward that he puts over his Jagan. He was pretty pissed about that, especially after Kuwabara started to tease him about it. Right now he's just staring at the pair of roller skates that he's supposed to wear with a look of disgust on his handsome face.

I skate over to him, a bit unsteady, as I haven't been skating in a few years. I grin at him. "Why don't you put them on, Hiei?"

He snaps his head up to glare at me with his beautiful red eyes. Eyes that are flashing dangerously at the moment. "Hn!" He looks down at the skates disdainfully. "I am not wearing those." I smile at him; he ignores me and continues to glare at the skates as if he wants to melt them.

Which he _can_ do.

"Don't you _dare,_" I whisper as I feel his aura start to flare. His ki immediately goes back to normal. The Jaganshi gives me a sour look. I smirk at my lover. "You look so _kawaii_ when you're mad, love," I whisper.

"Don't _call_ me that!" The irate little fire demon gives me a look to kill. "_Stupid fox._ Go away." He looks like he's about to leave.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't disappoint Yukina." The youkai stiffens, then glances in his sister's direction. "She'll be disappointed if you leave."

Yukina finishes putting on her skates and gracefully glides over to us. She favors us with a smile. "Kurama-san, Hiei-san, are you coming?"

"_Hn,_" is Hiei's only response.

I smile at the little Koorime. "We'll be there in a few minutes, Yukina-san." She smiles at us happily and skates away. I look at Hiei and quirk an eyebrow.

My lover growls at me. "Fine. I'll _wear_ the stupid things." It takes him a few minutes to put them on. "_Happy?!_" he growls sarcastically.

I decide to answer his rhetorical question. "Perfectly, love."

He growls at me and tries to stand up. And falls. "How the _hell_ did you convince me to do this?!"

Smiling, I help him up. "It'll take a little while for you to get used to them." Suppressing a laugh at the decidedly pissed off look on his face, I give him a little shove in the direction of the others. He tries to stop as he would without skates on, but the move puts him off balance and his feet slide out from under him.

The fire demon looks up at me from the floor with a promise of horrible pain in his infuriated crimson eyes. "_Stupid fox!!_" Grinning sheepishly, I move to help him up, but he kicks at me. In avoiding the blow, I lose my own balance and fall as well.

Kuwabara starts to snicker obnoxiously. Shizaru glares at him and violently elbows her younger brother in the ribs, effectively shutting him up as he clutches the area in great pain. "Baka. _You_ weren't much better when _you_ first tried it." Kuwabara just groans in response.

Yukina skates over to Hiei, who is struggling to rise, and holds out a hand to him. "Here, Hiei-san. Let me help you."

The fire demon hesitates for a moment before grabbing Yukina's hand and allowing her to help him up. Then she helps him skate over to a rail, where he can hold on.

Keiko smiles at Yukina. "Where did you learn to skate so well?"

The small Koorime smiles innocently. "_All_ Koorime children learn to skate at a young age. It's one of our favorite pastimes."

Hiei flinches minutely. No one but me seems to notice. I rise gingerly and skate over to the rail. Hiei scowls at me sourly. "_Baka._"

Yuusuke steps onto the roller rink. "Let's skate!" He is followed by Keiko, Kuwabara, and Shizaru. Hiei and I stare in surprise. Kuwabara is actually marginally graceful on skates.

Hiei snorts. "_Figures._" I grin at him.

Yukina smiles at Hiei and me. "Are you coming?"

"_Hn._ I suppose..."

I smile back at the Koorime. "In a little while." She smiles and skates after the others. "Gomen, Hiei. I forgot that you don't know how to skate." That earns me a growl. "Do you need some help learning?"

"I'll do it _myself,_" the fire demon snarls. He pushes away from the rail and nearly falls. I try to steady him, but he shoves me away. And falls again. "That's _it!_" He starts to take off his roller skates.

"Hiei, you promised Yukina you would go skating," I point out.

Growling, he relaces the skates. "_Fine!_ How the _hell_ do you do this?!"

I gently pull him to his feet. "You have to relax. Don't try to take your feet off the ground like you do when you're walking. It'll just make you lose your balance." I demonstrate. "Now _you_ try." He mimics my movements. "That's pretty good." After watching the fire demon practice for a few minutes, I indicate the rink. "You want to try it out there?"

"Hn." He skates toward the rink, his movements a bit clumsy, but getting better. I follow him. After a few times around he gets the hang of it and skates faster, putting distance between us.

I smile to myself. He's a pretty good skater already. In an hour, he'll be almost an expert.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hmm, you're probably asking, "Why the hell did she name her fic 'Fruitcake'?" I just thought about Christmas, and the first thing that came to mind was those disgusting, annoying little fruitcakes that everyone sends to say 'I love you'. Please tell me, how the hell do you express your love to someone by making/buying them something they hate? The only person I've ever known who actually _liked _them was my uncle, and he'll eat anything. The name has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline, but I laughed my ass off when I thought of all the people, who, out of honest curiosity, would read this fic just to see why it's named 'Fruitcake'. I might put something about fruitcake in here, but otherwise, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the storyline except that you get fruitcakes around Christmas, and this story takes place around Christmas.

Well, it's around Christmas right now. Christmas of '99 with the big Y2K scare. Most of you are probably wondering right now, "Why is she sitting here talking about the horrors of fruitcake when the world could be ending in about two weeks. Why isn't she running around screaming her head off about how 'We're all gonna die'?" or "Doesn't she know that if the world ends, her writing this story will have been pointless?" I figure, if we die, we die. I don't really want to think about it, because if I do, I'll become one of those people who are pulling their hair out in their paranoia. Besides, had we not been lazy in our computer programming (*cough, cough* Bill Gates) maybe this wouldn't be happening. Oh, well...


	2. Chapter Two: Meanies

Fruitcake- Chapter 2 __

Fruitcake  
A Yu Yu Hakusho Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 2: Meanies

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Yukina  
Kazuma-san went to rest. He hasn't been skating in a while, and he got tired quickly. I haven't been skating in a while either, but I learned to skate at a young age, so I get tired slower. Of course, I learned on ice, but this isn't much different.

Hiei-san was having trouble at first, but he learned fast. He's passed me about ten times already. I hope he's having fun. He never seems to have fun, and is always frowning. I've never seen him smile.

Two big teenage human boys start to skate next to me. I look up nervously. Why are they skating so close to me? Suddenly, one of them shoves me. I lose my balance and fall to the floor. The two humans stand above me, laughing. I feel like crying, I'm so scared. What do they want?

Hiei-san appears next to me. I am relieved. He'll protect me. He stands next to me and snarls at the two humans. "_Leave her alone!_"

The two boys snicker. "What can a shrimp like _you_ do to _make_ us stop?" one of them sneers. Faster than the human eye, Hiei-san strikes, and the boy is laying on the floor, clutching himself and moaning in pain. The other boy backs away.

"Hn," Hiei-san sniffs, then turns to me and offers his hand to help me up. I smile at him gratefully. To my surprise, a tiny smile graces his lips, transforming his face into something beautiful. I have never seen him smile before. The smile only lasts a few seconds. I reach up to take his hand when suddenly the other boy's roller skate connects with the back of Hiei-san's head. The smile turns into a look of pain as his eyes roll up and he falls to the floor, his head making an audible crack as it hits.

I am immediately beside him. "_Hiei-san!!_" He doesn't move. A small pool of blood surrounds his head. Kurama-san quickly joins me at Hiei-san's side. Yuusuke-san, Kazuma-san, Keiko-chan, and Shizaru-chan follow soon after.

"What happened?" Kurama-san asks with concern. He gently turns Hiei-san over onto his back. Blood runs from the small fire youkai's nose and mouth, as well as a large cut on the side of his head.

I point at the horrible human who hurt Hiei-san. "He _kicked_ him!"

Kurama-san fixes the boy with a look to kill. "If you know what's good for you, you'll get the _fuck_ out of here right now!!" The half-youko's eyes are flashing with rage. "If you don't leave now, I'll kill you. And don't even _think_ that I won't!" The boy skates away with a look of fear on his face. Kurama-san checks Hiei-san's pulse, then looks up at Yuusuke-san. "We need to leave. Now."

Yuusuke-san nods, then turns to Keiko-chan, Shizaru-chan, Kazuma-san, and me. "Grab your stuff. We're leaving."

Kurama-san picks up Hiei-san gently and carries him off the rink. I grab my shoes and Hiei-san's boots and we leave. We hurry to Genkai's. Kurama-san doesn't say a word the entire way there. I hope Hiei-san is going to be okay. He was injured protecting me.


	3. Chapter Three: Major Problems

Fruitcake- Chapter 3

IFruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 3: Major Problems

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Yuusuke  
We are in _big_ trouble. We've fought evil, supposedly-unbeatable demons and narrowly escaped death each time. Now we have a _very_ major problem. One that was caused by a ningen. Hiei is badly injured. Yukina can't heal him. According to her and Kurama, it's a skull fracture. And he needs medical attention. Surgery, to be precise.

And the only place he can get that surgery is at a ningen hospital.

Another big problem: He's not human. The Jagan is a dead give away. He'll be sent to the government for testing within two minutes of stepping into the hospital.

Not that he can exactly 'step' anywhere. He's still unconscious. And even if he weren't, he'd be in no condition to walk. Yukina and Kurama managed to stop the bleeding, but if we don't get him to a hospital soon, he'll die. That is attested to by the fact that his aura is flickering irratically.

Kurama comes up with the idea of asking Koenma for extra reiki to shield the Jagan from human eyes, and to disguise ourselves. Surprisingly, Koenma agrees.

After Kurama threatens to have him ripped apart by one of his 'pet' plants.

Kurama is disguised to look like a woman. Specifically, Hiei's - or 'Taki's' - 'mother'. He has black hair and green eyes. He's wearing an emerald green dress that matches his eyes, along with silver hair ribbons that hold his hair into an intricate braid. I'm starting to suspect that he's enjoying this.

I get stuck being the 'father'. I give myself graying black hair and black eyes. Kuwabara is the 'older brother'. Which fits him since he always calls Hiei 'shrimp' anyway. He changes his hair to black, but otherwise looks the same.

It isn't very hard to get him into the hospital. They're so disorganized that they don't even ask us for our health insurance card. The one we stole earlier today.

That _might_ be a bad thing.

The doctors check Hiei's injury and immediately wheel him into surgery. We stay in the waiting area, waiting impatiently.

* * *

About three hours later, a man in a doctor's lab jacket calls us in. His face is grim. Kurama and I look at each other. We both fear the worst.

The doctor frowns at us. "Hello. I'm Doctor Habaka."

Kurama immediately asks what we're all wondering. "How is he?" He sounds extremely worried, but so am I. Hiei shouldn't have been injured by a ningen. At least not that seriously. And he could be dead.

Habaka sighs. "He'll be fine. But I'm wondering, how did your son get a skull fracture?"

Frowning, Kurama tells him what happened. At least, most of what happened...He doesn't include the parts about Yukina healing him and why it took so long for us to get him to the hospital.

The doctor looks alarmed. "Did the police arrest that teenager?"

I shake my head. "No. The guy ran." I sigh. "Taki's friend is really upset."

"That's understandable," Habaka says, nodding.

Kurama speaks again. "When can take Taki home?" Acting the perfect part of the concerned mother. 

Or something _more..._

The doctor turns to him. "In a few days. We'd like to keep your son for observation, if that's okay with you."

Kurama nods. "Can we see him?"

Habaka smiles. "Of course. Follow me." He leads us to a small room in the children's section of the hospital.

Hiei lay on the only bed in the room, either asleep or unconscious. Probably unconscious. His face is nearly as pale as the blankets and sheets around him. The little bit of spiky, jet-black hair that is not covered by bandages contrasts startlingly with his face. The white starburst in his hair is also camouflaged by a shield of reiki.

The doctor smiles at us knowingly (or so he thinks) and leaves the room.

Kurama walks to the bed and sits on the edge of it. He looks at Hiei for a while, checking his aura. Then he gets up and looks at us. "His aura is strengthening. He'll be fine." I sigh, relieved. Kuwabara looks equally relieved. He may get into arguments with Hiei, but he still considers the youkai a good friend and teammate, and his concern is obvious. Kurama continues. "We need to get his out of here before his temperature rises. Any suggestions?"

Kuwabara scratches his head thoughtfully. "Well...we can't exactly _carry_ him out..."

I clear my throat. "_Actually,_ we could, but we might get caught..."

Kurama walks to the window. "We _could_ get Boton to do it..." He turns toward us. "You two tell her to come here to get us. _I'll_ stay here and make sure that Hiei doesn't burn the hospital down when he wakes up."

I nod. "Okay. See you in a little while." I drag Kuwabara out the door. I don't know why, but I'm starting to suspect that Kurama looks at Hiei as more than a friend...


	4. Chapter Four: Flying High...Too High!

Fruitcake- Chapter 4 __

Fruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 4: Flying High..._Too_ High!

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Kurama  
It's been nearly an hour since Yuusuke and Kuwabara left, and I'm getting worried. Boton should _be_ here by now. I pace restlessly around the small hospital room.

Hiei is still unconscious on the bed. I walk over and feel his forehead. His temperature is rising. Boton had _better_ hurry up, or one of the nurses will notice. Then we'll have even _bigger_ problems.

Hiei's head moves slightly as he stirs. I sit next to him on the bed, waiting patiently for him to regain consciousness. My lover moans weakly and opens his eyes, squinting in the harsh light. He stiffens as he sees me, but does nothing. His eyes are filled with a mixture of defiance and confusion as he demands in a whisper, "Who the _hell_ are you?!"

I smile at the Jaganshi. "What's wrong, love? Don't recognize me?"

He relaxes slightly, relieved, and glances around the hospital room. "Where the hell are we?"

I sigh. He's not going to like the answer. "Um...We're in...um...a ningen hospital," I reply warily.

"_Nani?!_" Hiei's blood-red eyes widen, then narrow. "What the _hell_ are we doing here?!" he whispers, alarmed.

I touch his cheek. His temperature is going up. I'll have to warn him about that. He pulls away from my hand, then winces and puts a hand to his head. "You had a skull fracture. Yukina couldn't heal you. You would have died without medical attention."

My lover is silent for a moment. "Well, at least _that_ explains why my head hurts." I smile. "Have they figured out that I'm not a ningen yet?" He doesn't look at me.

I realize that he's afraid. He knows what ningens have done to other youkai that were unfortunate enough to be caught. "No. Koenma let us use reiki to shield your Jagan." He looks at me. "They don't know."

"How did you get me into the hospital? I thought that you need some sort of identification. I don't have any." He looks confused. "And isn't it hard to make fakes?"

"Not for me." I grin at him. "Just to warn you, if one of the nurses comes in, _I'm_ supposed to be your mother. And your name is 'Taki'..."

He interrupts me. "What the hell?! _'Waterfall'?!_ You're joking, right?!"

"It was the name of the son of the man that we stole the identification from." He stares at me, amazed. "You didn't let me finish," I smirk. "Yuusuke is supposed to be your father, and Kuwabara is your older brother."

My fire demon looks disgusted. "You people are _sick._" I snicker at the look on his face. Hiei is silent for a moment. "How the _hell_ did I get a skull fracture, anyway? The last thing I remember is beating the shit out of the little fuck who pushed Yukina."

I frown. "When you turned to help Yukina, the other guy kicked you in the back of the head."

"I'm going to _kill_ that bastard!" He tries to sit up, but gasps in pain, and lays back down again.

"Take it easy. You just had surgery." He sighs. "Hiei?" The small youkai glances at me. "Don't curse. You're supposed to be nine."

"_Nani?!_" He glares at me. "This _sucks!_"

I sigh. "Just go to sleep. You need to rest." He growls at me defiantly. "Look, you almost _died._ You just went through three hours of surgery to fix a hole in your head."

"_Fine!_" he snarls, and closes his eyes. He turns over, onto his side, facing me.

"And Hiei?" He opens one eye. "Lower your ki, or they'll think you're running a fever. Then we'd _never_ get out of here."

The Jaganshi growls disgustedly and closes his eye. I feel his aura being supressed. After a few minutes, his breath deepens. Leaning over, I kiss his cheek. He sighs softly. I smile and sit back to wait for Boton.

* * *

An hour later, Boton _finally_ shows up. "_Took_ you long enough," I mutter, annoyed.

The blue-haired ferry-girl smiles sheepishly. "I had to help pick up some souls. There was some sort of disaster."

I sigh. "Fine. Let's just get out of here." I uncover Hiei, then smile as I see the white pajamas (complete with booties) that he's dressed in. I gently lift him into my arms, and turn toward Boton.

She snickers. "Love the PJ's!! I want a pair!!"

"Let's go," I sigh, as I jump onto her oar. We are immediately transported to the Reikai. About four _hundred_ meters above the ground. "Oh, Inari-sama! We're gonna die. We're gonna die."

Boton turns her head to look at me, annoyed. "My flying's not _that_ bad!"

I scream in fear as we head straight for the face of a cliff. "_LOOK OUT!!_" Boton directs her attention back to her flying and swerves just in time. We miss the cliff by about two inches.

Hiei stirs in my arms and tries to push away from me. Then he sees how far off the ground we are. "_Holy shit!!_" He grabs the oar and hold on for dear life. Then he glares at me. "You _could've_ warned me, y'know!!"

We've experienced Boton's flying before. How she got her flying liscence is beyond me. The flying instructor probably gave it to her so he could get _rid_ of her.

My stomach lurches as Boton turns sharply. "Um...Boton?"

"Hmmm?" she asks, obviously concentrating _very_ hard on her flying. That's not very reassuring.

"Could you fly a bit more carefully? Hiei just went through surgery, and I'm _quite_ sure that he doesn't need to go through any more trauma right now." Hiei grunts in assent. The blue-haired ferry-girl mutters something. Her flying doesn't get any better. "B-Boton...It _might_ help if you slowed down..."

She slows down. About one meter per second. "I'm flying _fine!!_" she yells. "_I'm_ the one with the license!!"

Finally, we get to the gate that will take us straight to Genkai's temple. In reality, the ride from hell only takes about five or ten minutes, but it certainly seems like more. We land in the forest near the temple.

Hiei tries to get up, but he winces and sits down, holding his throbbing head. "I _never_ want to do this _ever_ again!! I pity the poor souls that have to ride with her." I pick him up. "I'm gonna tell Koenma to sent anyone _but_ you for me."

Boton looks outraged. "Hmph! I wouldn't want to pick _you_ up anyway." She goes back through the gate.

I sigh. "Well, she's going to be pissed at you for _quite_ a while."

My lover growls. "I don't care! Where the _hell_ did she learn to fly?!"

I shake my head. "I don't know, but I would _hate_ to have been her flying instructor..." I look down at him. "Go back to _sleep._" He sighs, closes his eyes and quickly falls asleep. I carry him toward the temple.

Yukina sees me and rushes over. "Kurama-san!!"

"Shhh...Hiei's asleep."

She nods. "How is he?" she whispers.

I smile. "He's okay. The only thing that bothered him was the ride that Boton gave us."

She smiles back. "I'm so glad he's okay! He got hurt protecting me from those horrible boys!" The little Koorime looks away from me. "I feel like it's my fault."

"Yukina, it wasn't your fault. No one could have known that would have happened." She nods. I carry Hiei inside and set him on a futon, covering him with a blanket.

Yukina kneels beside the small fire demon and places her hand on his forehead. A soft blue light surrounds her hand. She turns to me. "I healed him."

I nod and remove the bandages from around Hiei's head. They shaved part of the back of his head. I sigh. I'll have to make something to make it grow back faster. I carefully remove the now-unnecessary stitches.

Yukina watches me in silence. When I am done she looks at me. "Can we go outside? I want to ask you something."

"Sure, Yukina-san." We leave the temple. "What is it?"

"Kurama-san?"

"Nani?" I am curious. What does she want to talk to me about?

The little Koorime fidgets. "I...I want to get something for Hiei-san for Christmas because he's been so nice to me. Do you know what he might like?"

I think about that for a moment. I know that Yukina has no money. Whatever she gives him will be hand-made. "I'm not sure, Yukina-san." She looks disappointed. "But...You're really good at embroidery, aren't you?" She nods. "Maybe you could make him a headband with something embroidered on it. Or something else. I'm sure he'll like whatever you give him."

She smiles. "I know _exactly_ what to do now! Arigato, Kurama-san!" She skips off happily, probably to get to work on whatever her gift will be.

I shake my head. I'll have to remind Hiei to get something for her. Or take him out to get it. Otherwise he'll just steal it. I walk back to the temple.

Yuusuke sees me and jogs over. "I didn't know you were back yet." I smile and nod. "When'd you get here?"

"About twenty minutes ago. Boton was late. Then she almost killed us with her flying."

Yuusuke snickers. "How did I _know_ that was going to happen?" I glare at him. "Anyway...How's Hiei?"

"He's okay. Asleep. Yukina healed him the rest of the way."

Yuusuke nods. "Y'know, next time I suggest that we go roller skating, _shoot_ me."

"Sure," I reply, deadpanned. "I'll shoot you." Yuusuke grins. "What are we doing for Christmas?"

The ningen scratches his head. "I dunno." He looks around. "If it'd _snow_ we could go sledding..." It's very cold out and the sky looks threatening. It has all week, but we still have no snow. Yukina is disappointed, as are Yuusuke and Kuwabara. The two ningens are looking forward to the snowball fights. Hiei was only in the Ningenkai once when it snowed. He never commented on it, but he was here for only a day when Mukuro called him back to the Makai. He's never been here for Christmas.

I smile. "Good luck on _that_ one." On cue, big, wet, snowflakes start falling from the sky. "Figures."

Yuusuke starts laughing. "Well, if you'd said that _earlier,_ there'd be enough snow for a snowball fight!" I grin. The best part about snow: the snowball fights. Especially the ones with Yuusuke and Kuwabara. They can't throw.

Yukina comes outside. "It's _snowing!!_" she cries happily.

Kuwabara comes out as well. "Yeah!! We can have a snowball fight later!!"

I shake my head and go inside. It's cold out, and I still haven't changed from that green dress yet. I go to the closet where we keep extra clothes and change into a pair of blue pants and a long-sleeved, yellow shirt. I'll have to remember to take the dress back to my okaasan's house. I told her that I needed it for her size. Now I have to buy her a pretty dress for Christmas. Oh, well; she deserves one.

I quietly slip into the room that Hiei is sleeping in. Only he's no longer asleep. He sits up as I come in. "Hello, Hiei. Sleep well?"

He snorts. "Was that the idiot yelling a few minutes ago?"

"Yes. He's happy because it's snowing."

"Hn. Stupid ningen." He rubs the back of his head. And freezes. "What the _fuck..?!_"

I sigh. "I'll make something to make your hair grow back. They had to shave it to do the surgery."

He growls irritably. "_Hn._"

I sit down next to him. "By the way, what are you going to get Yukina for Christmas?"

The fire demon gives me a stange look. "Whaddya mean?"

"During Christmas, people get their loved ones gifts," I inform him. "So, what do you want to get her.

Hiei looks uncomfortable. "I...don't know." He looks at me. "I'm not sure what she wants..."

"Well, I'll take you out to get her something. You could get her a necklace or something." He nods. "How are you feeling, love?"

"I'm fine, fox. And _don't_ call me that!!"

I smile at him. "Okay, love. Whatever you say." The fire demon mutters something highly uncomplimentary under his breath. "Now, love, that wasn't very nice."

"_Shut up, Kurama._" The Jaganshi glares at me. He's really getting pissed.

"Gomen..." I shut up. For a moment. "Do you want to go outside?"

"Hn." He gets to his feet. "I suppose..." He looks down at what he's wearing. "What the _fuck_ am I wearing?!"

"Um...pajamas?" The small youkai glares at me. "The nurses dressed you in them...Let me get your clothes for you." I hurry from the room and am back in a flash with a pair of black pants, a black long-sleeved shirt, and Hiei's cloak and boots. He dresses quickly and we go outside. Already there is about two inches of snow on the ground, and it's falling fasted. Kuwabara and Yuusuke are engaged in a losing snowball fight against Keiko and Shizaru.

"Are they _trying_ to lose, or do they _really_ suck at this?" Hiei asks sarcastically.

"They really suck at this, Hiei," I reply, smiling.

Yukina joins us. "It looks like they're having fun." She looks up at me and smiles. "It's just like home!"

Hiei starts to walk away. "I'll be right back," I tell Yukina. "_Hiei!_ Wait up!" I quickly catch up to him and walk beside him. "Hiei...come on. Let's go back." I know nothing that I can say will console him. It still hurts for him to think about how he was abandoned.

The Jaganshi ignores me and keeps walking. I figure that he wants my company; otherwise he could easily run away. I won't be able to follow if he runs. But he doesn't run. He keeps walking. I look back and see Yukina watching us leave with a confused, hurt expression on her face. "Hiei...Yukina doesn't understand why we're leaving. She thinks she's done something wrong."

My lover stops dead in his tracks and looks back at his sister. He stands there for a moment, the snow around him melting. Then he disappears without a word. Sighing, I walk back to Yukina.

She looks up at me with a hurt expression. "Why did Hiei-san leave? Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, _no_, Yukina-san! You didn't do anything wrong. Hiei just had something that he needed to do."

She looks at me, confused. "But he...he looked _upset..._"

I don't know what to say to that.


	5. Chapter Five: A Realization

Fruitcake- Chapter 5 __

Fruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 5: A Realization

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Yukina  
I am very confused. Hiei, Kurama, and I were standing and watching Yuusuke-san, Kazuma-san, Shizaru-chan, and Keiko-chan have a snowball fight. I mentioned how it reminded me of my home, the Koorime floating city.

Hiei-san walked away from me when I said that. Kurama-san ran after him. After walking about ten steps, Hiei-san turned back and looked at me. The look on his face was one of pain and sorrow. Then he disappeared.

What did I say wrong? Kurama-san tells me that I didn't say anything wrong, but I know he's wrong. I said something to upset Hiei-san. I _know_ I did! 

I mentioned something about how the snow and fun reminded me of my home, but why would that bother him. I realize that I've _never_ heard him mention his family. Doesn't he _have_ one?

I review all that I know about him. All I know is that he was a thief in the Makai, and that he was caught by Yuusuke-san after he stole a weapon from the Reikai and tried to use it to kill ningens. And I know that he's killed many people. But, other than that, I don't really know very much about him.

Hiei-san is kind to me. He promised to find my brother for me, but he hasn't had any luck yet. Every time he come to me to report his failure, his face is totally emotionless. But his eyes are filled with despair.

Eyes like _mine..._

I gasp at that realization. _Eyes like mine!_ Is he my brother? He has the same red eyes as me, and he is about my height. And every time I mention something nice about my home, he leaves, or looks upset. I can't believe I didn't realize it before. He _must_ be my brother!

But why didn't he _tell_ me? He _knows_ that I want to find my brother. And I've already come to love him as if he really were my brother. And I didn't know the truth. Doesn't he _want_ me as a sister? Is he _ashamed_ of me?

I know that can't be it. If he _were_ ashamed of me, he wouldn't do things for me or protect me. Does Kurama-san know? I know that he and Hiei-san are very good friends, but did he tell Kurama-san about me? Should I ask Kurama-san?

No.

I'm not going to ask anyone. They'd just tell Hiei-san. And I want to surprise Hiei-san at Christmas by telling him that I know.

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Awww!! How _sweet!!_ She _finally_ figured it out!! I love this chapter!! *blinks* Oh, yeah...I wrote it...


	6. Chapter Six: Christmas Eve

Fruitcake- Chapter 6 __

Fruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 6: Christmas Eve

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Kurama  
Hiei's hair grew back in quite nicely, after I coaxed it with a special Makai potion. The fire demon was in a very bad mood for a few days after I applied the potion to his scalp. He wouldn't admit it, but I think his head itched. He gets pretty pissed when he's uncomfortable.

It's Christmas Eve. I told my parents that I was going to a Christmas party, and that I would come to their house tomorrow morning. For once, I was telling the truth. I'm going to stay at my apartment with Hiei tonight to give him one of his..._gifts._ The party is at Genkai's temple. I actually managed to convince Hiei to come.

Everyone is exchanging gifts, but we won't open them until after the party, when we're at home. I took Hiei out last week to get Yukina a gift. He picked out a silver necklace with a silver snowflake charm. I know Yukina will _love_ it.

I got her a silver barette to match the necklace that Hiei got her. Hiei and I are also giving gifts to Genkai, Yuusuke, and Kuwabara. I got Kuwabara a pair of roller skates. I got Yuusuke a camera and Genkai a pair of ninja stars. Hiei disappeared for a few hours, and reappeared with three bottles of Makai brew, one for for Yuusuke, one for Kuwabara, and one for me, and a very ornate no dati for Genkai. I don't even _want_ to know how he got _those_ gifts. I can't drink that much alcohol, so I'll bring it along to the party and share it. I hope Hiei understands. He also brought something else home, but he hid it and won't tell me what it is. I know where he hid it, but I want to be surprised, so I don't peek.

I wonder what Yukina's making Hiei. She never told me. In fact, I haven't seen much of her in the past few weeks. She's probably staying in her room, making people's gifts.

I help Hiei wrap the gifts and he shoves his in a small black canvas bag and carries them over to Genkai's to put them under the Christmas tree that Yuusuke and Kuwabara dragged in and that everyone helped in decorating. I follow with my gifts.

The decorations are beautiful. Yukina is pleased when I tell her that. Apparently, she helped make them. Yuusuke and Keiko show up about an hour after I arrive with two bags filled with gifts. Kuwabara and Shizaru follow soon after, also loaded down with presents. We set them around the tree for later.

Keiko made a special Western drink called 'eggnog', and Shizaru made fruitcake. Genkai had a turkey imported, and she and Yukina cooked it. I've never had turkey before, but I hear that it's really good. I brought the Makai brew that Hiei got for me.

Dinner is good. The meal is all American holiday food. There is turkey, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce, rolls, and mashed potatoes for dinner. For dessert there is pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate cream pie, ice cream, most of which Hiei ate, and (of course) fruitcake. To my surprise, Hiei _likes_ fruitcake. Unfortunately, so does Kuwabara, so we get to listen to them fight over it. Finally, Shizaru cuts it, and, since no one else likes fruitcake, gives them each half of it. They each eat their half, glaring at each other the entire time.

Shizaru grins. "Great!! I've been trying to get rid of that stupid fruitcake for years!!"

Kuwabara gags. "This was _that_ fruitcake?!"

Smirking, Shizaru punchs his arm. "'Course it is, baka. You didn't think I'd _actually_ make another one, did you?" She turns to Hiei, still chuckling. "Gomen, Hiei. I _had_ to watch him eat that, otherwise I would've warned you."

Hiei shrugs. "I've eaten worse. Besides, it tasted good."

Kuwabara looks disgusted. "I'm gonna be sick. You're disgusting."

"Hn," Hiei sniffs. "If you don't _like_ fruitcake, then why'd you _eat_ it?"

"Like I was gonna let _you_ eat it all!!"

"You're an _idiot._"

"_Hey!!_" Kuwabara lunges, but Hiei disappears, then reappears on the other side of the room. Kuwabara falls flat on his face.

"Hn. _You_ can't even stay on your own feet. _That,_ in my opinion, shows how stupid you are."

Somehow, Yuusuke manages to restrain Kuwabara from trying to go after Hiei and starting another round of squabbling. Then we drink the eggnog, which is surprisingly potent. Eventually, I bring out the Makai liquor. Hiei has a glass, as do Shizaru, Keiko, Genkai, and I. Yukina politely declines. Yuusuke and Kuwabara finish off the bottle.

Around one in the morning, we finally break up the party. Hiei takes his gifts and leaves. I stay for a little while longer and thank Genkai, then I pack up my gifts. As I'm putting my gifts in the bag that I brought, I see a small gift that Hiei forgot. It's from Yukina. I sigh and put it in my coat pocket. Then I walk home.

Hiei is in the living room, rumaging through his bag when I get home. I empty out my bag on the floor, and sit on the couch, watching my lover. "Are we going to _unwrap_ them or not?"

"Hn." He pulls a gift out of the pile of his on the floor. "Yuusuke..." He rips it open. It's a metal katana sheath with dragons carved into it.

"Wow..." I breath as I look at it. "That _had_ to be expensive..."

Hiei removes his katana from his belt and takes it from the old, ratty sheath that he uses. "Good. I needed a new one." Yuusuke must have seen that and decided to get him a new one. How practical.

I smile and pick through my pile of presents until I find the one from Yuusuke. I open it and find a large box. I open that and find around a hundred packages of seeds. Some of the more deadly varieties of the Ningenkai, such as the Venus Fly Trap, and (for me at least) the rose. "Well, at least now I won't have to buy more for a while...At least until after another mission..."

Hiei snorts and pulls out another present. "_Kuwabara?!_" He opens it and reveals...a pair of black roller skates with a fire dragon on each side. I wonder where he found those... "Hn. He _would_ get me something like this..."

"Don't you like them?"

The Jaganshi ignores me. "I wonder if they'll fit..."

I smirk. He likes them. He's just too stubborn to admit it. I pick them up to look closer and see that the dragons were painted on by hand. _Wow._ This had to have taken a lot of time. Then I see the name of the artist cleverly hidden in the flames. Shizaru. "Hey, Hiei. Shizaru painted the dragons on."

He quirks an eyebrow and takes the skates back, looking at them closely. "She's a good artist..."

I pull out Kuwabara's gift to me and unwrap it. It's a ningen Western cookbook with everything from pizza to chocolate mousse. "Cool. I'll have to experiment."

"I'm assuming I've been elected your lab rat?" I grin at him to let him know that he's correct. Hiei looks the book and sniffs. "What the _hell_ is a chocolate moose?!"

"It's 'mousse,' Hiei, and it's a kind of cross between chocolate pudding and chocolate ice cream..." By the look on the little youkai's face, he _definitely_ wants to try it. "Come on...let's finish opening gifts so we can get to...other things."

Hiei quickly pulls another gift from his pile and looks at it. "Genkai." He rips off the paper, revealing a beautiful dagger with a dragon handle. "Hn. Nice weapon."

"Beautiful." The fire demon grunts in agreement. I smile and open my own gift from Genkai. The handle of the rapier is a silver fox, and the tail melts into the blade. "Wow. This is a nice blade!"

Hiei snorts and pulls out another gift. "Boton? I thought she was still pissed at me..." He looks at me. I shrug. "Hn." He opens the gift to reveal a large box. Inside that box is another box. And another. And another. Ten boxes later, the very impatient Jaganshi finally gets to the gift. It is a tiny wooden oar. Along with it is a note. Hiei reads it aloud. "'You'll need this when you die, 'cause I sure as hell ain't picking _you_ up.'" He looks at me. "Yup. Still pissed."

I sigh and open my own package from Boton. And find it wrapped in the same fashion. Finally, I open the last box. Inside is a pretty pink kimono with gold hair ribbons and a note. It reads: 'You seemed to enjoy wearing that dress that you were in when I picked you up. I hope you enjoy this one just as much.' I look at Hiei. "She's pissed at me too."

"Why's she pissed at you?" the youkai sniffs.

"Before you woke up, I said that she was going to kill us with her driving. She sure holds a grudge." Hiei snickers. "I can give this to my mom. It's about her size."

Each of us get envelopes from Koenma. "If this is another mission, I'm gonna kill that pacifier-sucking freak," Hiei grumbles. We open them at the same time. They are free passes for a week off. "Hn. So much for Christmas bonuses."

Hiei opens his gift from Hinigeshi. It's a hand-knit black hat lined with some sort of warm, black fur. The outside is made to match his hair, including even the white starburst and blue tips. "I wonder where she got _this..._"

I shrug and open my own package. I receive a silver one with white fur inside. "Looks like she made everyone the same thing..." I smile at Hiei. "Time to exchange gifts..."

The Jaganshi disappears for a moment and returns with a large, sloppily wrapped, slightly singed gift. "Here."

I open it and gasp in amazement. It is the Airashii bush, one of the rarest and most beautiful plants in the Makai. "Oh, Hiei! It's lovely!" I look at him. "But how in the world did you _find_ it?"

"That's for me to know."

"Don't worry, I'll convince you to tell me. I have my ways..." Grinning, I hand him the package from me. He unwraps it and opens the box. And pulls out the charm necklace that I had specially made for him. It is a rose with a dragon entwined lovingly around it. He stares at it for a while, then looks at me. "Thank you, Kurama.

I smirk at my fire demon. "That wasn't my _whole_ present." I pull him onto the couch and prepare for a _very_ enjoyable night.


	7. Chapter Seven: Yukina's Present

Fruitcake- Chapter 7 __

Fruitcake  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 7: Yukina's Present

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Hiei  
I wake up in my fox's arms. He is still sound asleep. I decide not to wake him. I snuggle against him and try to go back to sleep. But I can't. I carefully disengage myself from his arms and get out of bed to get dressed. He pulls me back into bed and holds me close. Damn fox was faking it the entire time.

He smiles at me. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

I growl at him. "And just _how long_ have _you_ been awake?"

His smile grows even larger. "About twenty minutes. I was watching you sleep." I sigh. Encouragable kitsune. "By the way, you forgot a gift at Genkai's. I forgot about it last night in light of the fact that we were engaged in...other...activities..." He runs a finger lightly up and down my chest.

I know what's on _his_ mind. I jump out of the bed and dress. He watches with a rather disappointed look on his face. "What time is it, fox?"

"About seven, love. Why?"

I growl. He always calls me that. It makes me uncomfortable. "Why the _fuck_ are we up _this_ early?!"

He grins. "I have to go to my parent's house."

"And _when_ do you have to be there?" I ask suspiciously.

"Not until ten." He smirks. "I thought we could have some...fun before I have to leave."

"Hn." Stupid, sex-crazed kitsune. "You said that I left something at Genkai's. What is it, fox?"

Sighing, he gets up. "I don't know. It was under the tree." He looks around the room for his pants, finds them, and pulls something out of the pocket. "It's from Yukina."

I stiffen. I didn't think... "Give me that." I take it from him and hold it, wondering if I should open it or not.

Kurama scowls at me impatiently. "Well? Open it already!!"

"Boy are _you_ impatient. What if I don't _want_ to open it, fox? Hmmm?" Kurama glares at me sourly. "Oh, fine. I _suppose_ I'll open it." I take my time with the paper that the gift is wrapped in, taking full satisfaction in Kurama's impatience. After a few minutes, I finally unwrap it. It's a beautiful black headband with a silver embroidered dragon on the front.

Kurama gasps. "Wow. She is _really_ good at embroidery." I nod in agreement and look closer. And catch sight of silver embroidery inside. I look at it and gasp. The headband falls to the floor from my suddenly nerveless fingers.


	8. Chapter Eight: Surprise

_Fruitcake_  
A _Yu Yu Hakusho_ Christmas story  
By Ibara Bara

Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They belong to Yoshihiro Togashi, Studio Perroit, and any other people who worked on the creation of this wonderful series.

Chapter 8: Surprise

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**Kurama**  
I wake up at about six-thirty, but I don't feel like getting up. Nor do I feel like going to sleep. Hiei is curled up in my arms, still asleep. I watch him for a while while he sleeps.

The gift. The one from Yukina. Damn! I forgot to give it to him. Oh, well. I'll just give it to him when he wakes up. After a while, my fire demon stirs. Deciding to be annoying, I pretend to be asleep, keeping one eye slightly open to watch him.

Hiei's beautiful red eyes open slowly. He stretches tiredly, then looks at me. Probably deciding (incorrectly) that I'm asleep, he moves closer to me and closes his eyes. I'm extremely tempted to drop the act, but I manage to keep some of my self control. I lie still as Hiei snuggles against my chest, trying to fall asleep. Evidently, he can't, because after a few minutes, he opens his eyes again.

Sighing, my fire demon starts to get out of bed. Grinning I grab him and haul him back onto the bed. I smile at him slyly. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

He growls at me irritably. "And just _how long_ have _you_ been awake?"

My smile grows even larger. "About twenty minutes. I was watching you sleep." He sighs digustedly. "By the way, you forgot a gift at Genkai's. I forgot about it last night in light of the fact that we were engaged in...other...activities..." I carress his chest lightly.

He jumps away from me and out of the bed. The sexy Jaganshi dresses as I watch, disappointed. "What time is it, fox?" he demands.

"About seven, love. Why?" I know that he _hates_ it when I call him 'love.' And I enjoy his reaction. _Emensely._

He growls angrily. Evidently, he's not in the mood to be messed with. _Oops._ Oh, well. "Why the _fuck_ are we up _this_ early?!"

I smile at him, making a sincere attempt to be annoying. By the look on his face, I'm succeeding. "I have to go to my parent's house."

"And _when_ do you have to be there?" he asks suspiciously.

"Not until ten." I smirk at my fire demon suggestively. "I thought we could have some...fun before I have to leave."

"Hn," is his only response to _that._ I'm very disappointed. Then he changes the subject. "You said that I left something at Genkai's. What is it, fox?"

I sigh, even more disappointed by his lack of reaction, and get to my feet. "I don't know. It was under the tree." I look among the articles of clothing that are strewn around the room for my pants, find them, and take the gift from one of the pockets. "It's from Yukina," I tell him.

He looks rather startled. "Give me that." He snatches it from me, then just stands there looking at it with an undecided look on his face.

I glare at him impatiently. "Well? Open it already!!" I'm dying of curiosity.

"Boy are _you_ impatient. What if I don't _want_ to open it, fox? Hmmm?" I scowl at him. He's getting me back. "Oh, fine. I _suppose_ I'll open it." With a smug look on his face, he _slowly_ opens the gift. I have to restrain myself from going over there and opening it myself. After a few minutes, he finally finishes unwrapping it. It's a hand-made black headband with a silver embroidered dragon on the front.

I take a breath in awe at it's beauty. "Wow. She is _really_ good at embroidery." My lover nods in agreement, and looks at the headband closely. Suddenly he gasps and drops the headband. A black tear gem falls to the floor to land beside it. "Hiei?!" I ask, alarmed. "What's wrong?!" He doesn't answer, and just backs away. I grab him and pull him close. "Hiei..?"

I don't get any answer out of him. He seems to be in shock. What could have done this to him?! I pick up the headband in one hand, while holding him tightly in the other.

Embroidered inside, in silver lettering, are the words: 'Daisuke, oniisan'.

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Questions? Comments? Criticisms?  
Contact Bara-chan!


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